“As you wish,” Johai said tightly. The white lines around his mouth were stark against his skin. “I will not assist you in this, but you must promise me that you will use the utmost caution.”
“I am always cautious.” I smiled, but he did not return it.
Johai nodded sharply. “Very well, it’s getting late. We should look for a room for the night.”
He went over to their mounts. They had brought my mare back for me, and I climbed into the saddle. We rode down the city streets. I glanced at the palace, gray and imposing in the dying light of the day. Though I had tried to fight it, I had been drawn back into the game of intrigue, and the game had just begun.
Chapter Five
I returned once more to the playhouse; this time I went alone. Philippe answered the door once more, and with a haughty sniff, he led me to Elenna’s chambers. It was a small room just beyond the theatre itself. He knocked on the door, and when she came to answer and saw me, she did not hide her surprise or her displeasure.
“Madame, I did not expect to see you back,” she said in a stiff tone that had lost its musical edge.
“May I speak with you, alone?” I asked and gave a pointed look towards Philippe.
“Philippe, will you give us a moment.”
He scowled at me but walked back down the hall in the opposite direction. Elenna stepped aside from the doorway and showed me into her chamber.
“How can I be of assistance?” she said with her arms crossed over her chest.
There was so much I wanted to ask her, but from her guarded stance, I did not think I would be getting the answers I sought today. Instead, I focused on the task at hand, and that was getting into Jon Sixton’s fete. I needed an excuse to enter his home once again, without detection; the playhouse was just the cover I needed.
“I want to join your troupe,” I said.
Her brows furrowed in a perplexed expression. “You wish to act with our group?”
“Yes.”
She paced away from me and walked over to the fireplace at the far end of the room. Once she reached it, she turned back to look at me. She had regained her composure, and she seemed a bit more at ease. “May I ask why?”
I had anticipated that question. I lifted my head and looked at her straight on. “I had a vision that led me to believe the Danhadine ambassador, who you are performing for, is involved in something that could affect my kingdom and Neaux. I need access to him to find out what he is planning and how to stop him.”
She sighed and recrossed her arms over her chest. “You would have me put my people at risk to expose this man when you are not even sure what he has planned? Do you think this ambassador will help you save your friend?”
I did not look away though I felt her assessing gaze probing into my psyche. “Not exactly but I cannot give up hope that there may be a way to save him.”
A slow smile crept up her face. “Very well. I think I have a job for you, then.”
I exhaled. “Thank you, I promise I will find a way to make it up to you.”
She held up her hand. “It is no matter. I was in need of a fortuneteller anyway.”
My stomach dropped. “A fortuneteller?”
Her grin widened. “Yes, and I think you will not need to fear detection while you play spy. I have just the costume for you. Come back tomorrow, and we will practice your part.”
I was overwhelmed with excitement; it had been too easy. Once I was in Jon’s home, I would find out what he was planning and stop him. Then we would be on our way to Jerauch. I do not need to choose after all.
How wrong I was. This was only the beginning.
Over the next fortnight, I went to the theatre and learned how to perform as a fortuneteller. I promised Johai once this was over, we would leave the city. My heart wanted to go north to Jerauch and search out the priest of Mrawa and beg him for answers to Johai’s possession, but my head would not let me. Adair had designs for the Neaux court, and these Danhadine soldiers and Jon could not be mere coincidence. I needed to discover what they were plotting and find a way to warn the Neaux court. I had no real plan, per se, and I was limited on time, but I figured once I had the evidence, I would find a way to tell the royal family.
The night of Jon Sixton’s fete arrived. Johai had given me a stony farewell before Beau and I set out for the playhouse. He did not approve of me working for the troupe, but he did not raise an argument against it, which was strange but also a relief. If he did not inhibit me, then I could settle this matter quicker, or so I told myself. Perhaps he has given up, a voice nagged at the back of my mind. We will be out of the city within a month’s time at most, I reassured myself. How can I hope to unravel this mystery in such a short time when I did not solve my missing memories for nearly a year?
The realization was a bitter pill, but I remained optimistic. Beau accompanied me to the playhouse as usual. Once again, we entered through the side door. This time a flouncing young Neaux woman met us there.
“Ah, the illusino!” she said and grabbed my hands, pulling me into the dark hallway. “We have been waiting for your arrival! Elenna has a surprise for your performance tonight!”
“Thank you—” I fumbled. Antoinette was full of energy that radiated from her and ensnared people unknowingly.
She waved off my awkwardness and tugged me along after her. “Follow me. You will love it, I am sure.” Beau moved to follow, but she stopped him with an upturned hand. “Ladies only.” She winked.
Beau stared back at her with arms crossed over his chest.
“It will be fine,” I said to Beau. He nodded and stood sentry outside the door.
Antoinette huffed and swished her hips as we walked away, leaving Beau behind us.
“Not very friendly, is he?” She pouted.
“Not really,” I said and suppressed a smile.
Inside the dressing room, three other women, in different states of undress, did not glance up as we entered. Antoinette led me past them to a vanity at the back of the chamber. A dress hung on a hook. It was dark midnight blue velvet with silver threading and a hood trimmed in silver. A silver mask hung on the end of a ribbon over the edge of the mirror.
“Your costume,” the woman said.
I stared at it as Elenna’s veiled reassurances became clear. My only requirement in joining them had been a disguise. I pretended it was to keep my husband from knowing what I was doing. This was Elenna’s idea of a disguise: a mask. Anxiety coiled in my stomach. It would not be enough; Jon would recognize me in an instant. I should turn back. It is not worth the risk, I thought. For a moment, I selfishly thought of using Johai’s powers. The last time had ended in disaster, and I dared not bring him into this. Guilt piled on top of my anxiety.
I cannot let Adair win. I balled my hand into a fist. I have to stop him. Perhaps Jon Sixton will not recognize me behind the mask. I could only hope.
I undressed and folded my gown, leaving it over the back of the vanity stool, and then slipped on my costume. It glided on, and the fit was close to the waist and flared at the hips. I stood before the mirror. I fastened the mask on with the pearlescent ribbon and hid it beneath the curtain of my sable hair, which hung loose. I stared at my reflection with my hood pulled up and the mask on. I looked like a vision from a dream. The silver mask glimmered in the candlelight, and the shadows the hood cast over my face made my features hard to distinguish. I hardly recognized myself, and I doubted anyone else would either. I was indistinguishable but for the flashing of my violet eyes in the right light.
I turned and realized the room had hushed; the other women had dressed and stood about. I faced them, and the woman closest to me recoiled.
“You look like a wandering spirit!” Antoinette said with an excited clap of her hands.
Like the specter. I shivered. I did not like the association, but I felt confident behind my disguise. I took a deep breath. I can do this.
I raised my arm, and the velvet trailed after me. The silver stitching
sparkled in the candlelight. The women appeared torn between fear and admiration.
“You will be performing first,” Elenna said from the doorway to the dressing room. She stood a head above the Neaux women, and her onyx hair was coifed into a bun at the nape of her neck and sprigs of white flowers were tied up in it. She did not wear the overdone makeup the other women favored. Her radiant beauty was natural, with high cheekbones, a bow mouth, and exotic almond eyes.
“Oh?” Though my clothing gave me false confidence, nervousness twisted my insides once more.
“Come, we should go before the hour grows late.” Elenna beckoned to the girls, and we filed out amid twittering laughter and overlapping excited voices.
We gathered masks and props and loaded them into a covered wagon with patchwork tapestries that waited for us out back. Philippe sat on the driver’s bench between a pair of poles that had ribbons dangling from them. Once everything was loaded, a few of the women climbed into the cart while others prepared to walk alongside it.
Late night shoppers came out and called out to the players. The women players smiled and waved, and the male players tumbled and did tricks for the crowd. I looked out from the back of the wagon, and a few passersby saw me and pointed. The festive atmosphere the others created was hushed. Many of the shoppers made ward signs: two fingers pressed to their lips and then a slash across their abdomen.
“They fear what they do not know,” Elenna leaned in to whisper to me.
I looked away and lowered my gaze. I pulled my hood down further. It was better they feared me; I only brought destruction.
Beau, who sat across from me, cleared his throat. I looked up at him, and he nodded. I took it as a gesture of solidarity.
Antoinette claimed the seat beside Beau and made it her prerogative to engage him in conversation. Beau, adversely, ignored her. When driving over some bumpy road, she fell forward and into his lap and let her hands linger on his inner thigh as she pushed herself up and back into a seated position. Beau seemed immune to her advances. He is stalwart. I wonder if he remains devoted to Sabine? I had witnessed men falling for lesser advances than Antoinette was plying on him.
I did not have overlong to think such romanticized notions because we had arrived at the ambassador’s plaza, or rather, Jon Sixton’s home. I glanced at the broad exterior that faced out onto the street. A window was lit on the second floor, and I could see shadows moving about. I have to get to his personal quarters. He must have a letter or some kind of instructions, I thought.
We were greeted by the duke’s head manservant, a Neaux man with liberally gray-streaked black hair. He showed us inside and led us to a room adjacent to the kitchens, where we were to make final preparations for the performance.
Elenna and the man spent several minutes discussing plans and entrances. It was customary for the travelling troupe to practice away from the play of the actual event, which made for a bit of chaos come showtime. I learned later that peoples of a certain social class in Neaux did not linger in the homes of those of a higher, which made the rehearsals difficult.
Beau approached me as silent as the wind and put a hand on my shoulder. I turned away from Elenna and Jon’s servant.
“What are you looking for?” he said in a whisper. His lips hardly moved when he spoke, and had anyone glanced in our direction, they might think nothing of him standing beside me.
I did not answer right away, but my building nerves were weakening my resolve.
“I want to know what Jon Sixton is doing in Sanore,” I replied while turning my head slightly to prevent anyone from seeing what I was saying. “Look for letters from Adair or anything written in Danhadine.”
The manservant left with a bow, and Elenna turned around beaming. The others were busy assembling props and placing wigs upon people’s heads and did not see me and Beau conversing. Elenna did, and she strolled over to us.
“I’ll see it done,” Beau took a step back as Elenna approached.
She outstretched her arms to me. “Are you prepared?”
I wanted to scream ‘no’. This was a foolhardy plan, and I was certain to be caught, but I had come too far to back out now.
“Yes,” I croaked and could not force more words to escape.
Behind Elenna, Beau slipped out of the room amid the chaos. I did not want to involve him, but there was still the likely chance that Jon Sixton would recognize me. At least my presence could be a distraction rather than a hindrance.
“Follow me, then.” She motioned, and I did. We returned to the hall just outside the kitchen. The duke’s guests’ voices rang out in the adjoining room, and mixed in with the fluting sounds of Neaux speech, I heard the familiar inflections of home and my maiden tongue. There were Danhadines in the audience; of that, I had no doubt. The last traces of confidence I felt in the dressing room had evaporated. I cannot do this! I am no performer. I hate crowds. This is not possible. Jon may have let me go free, but other countrymen of mine may not be as kind.
I turned as if to flee, and Elenna caught me by the shoulders and stopped me from doing so.
“You must perform,” she commanded.
I shook my head. I cannot, I thought. This is folly. Why didn’t Johai stop me and save me from my own foolhardiness. I am going to throw my freedom in Jon Sixton’s face. He will not let me go a second time, and I will be taken back to Keisan and Adair. Johai will never know what happened to me. I was panting, and I clutched the front of my bodice in a failed attempt to still my racing heart.
“Illusino, look at me.”
Her words compelled me to obey. I looked up and met her dark eyes. I swallowed a lump in my throat.
“You shall perform. Fear is just an emotion. This is what you were born to do.”
I laughed and choked on a sob. “I was meant to be a soothsayer with a band of players?”
She smiled and pushed a stray hair away from my face. “You know what I mean, Maea.”
I could not say what it was about her melodious voice, but it gave me the confidence to take a step out onto the stage. I entered from a side door onto the wooden platform. Large crimson curtains framed the stage, and a single light shone on the center. I hesitated in the shadows, peering out into the crowd. The murmurs were a steady hum, and I could see shifting bodies just outside the blinding light.
I closed my eyes and bolstered my courage. I stepped into the light, my eyes blinded by the candles that reflected back up at me. I resisted the urge to shade my face.
A hush grew over the crowd, and I felt every eye resting upon me. I tried to discern Jon Sixton among them, but I could not. I moved across the stage and stood at the center as Elenna had coached me. I looked out into the darkness. Except for the muted whispers, it was as if I were alone.
I motioned with my arm.
“Long have the mystics parted the curtains of time.” My voice caught, and somewhere in the background, a man coughed. I inhaled and continued. “I, blessed with the sight to look backwards and forwards, call forth one among you who would have your future foretold.”
My heart hammered in my chest. What if no one volunteers and I am left standing here like a fool? What if I’m arrested on the spot?
A few men jested with one another.
“Fredrico, you should!” A young man with dark curls pushed his friend with a pointed finger. His friend whom he had pushed was a lean man with dancing eyes and a square jaw.
“Yes, show the beautiful sorceress your heart!” a second companion taunted.
I stepped to the edge of the light and held my hand out to him. He flashed me a white smile before shoving his way through the crowd while his friends hollered after him.
He stumbled forward up a makeshift stair. When he gained the stage, he took my hand and kissed it. His actions were met with a roar of approval by the crowd. I, however, felt sick to my stomach. He reminded me of Adair in a way. And that was the last thing I needed reminding of, in that moment. I removed my hand and folded my arms in my sl
eeves.
“What would you have me divine, my lord?”
He grinned and looked back to his friends, who were catcalling and shouting encouragement.
“When I will find love.” He winked, and I fought the urge to blush and look away. I was to be an omnipotent soothsayer, not a shy maiden.
“May I?” I held out my hand to take his, palm up.
His smile did not falter as he presented it to me. I took it, cupping it in my own, though connecting to him in the dream space was not possible in this manner. I knew from his flirtatious manner what sort of man he was, and it was easy to see he was confident with women, perhaps too much so.
“I see here you are very popular among maidens.”
His friends called out to him with encouragement.
“You see that here in my hand?” He teased. “Or is it my amiable manner that gives it away?”
“Don’t let the sorceress fall for you or she’ll take your heart!” one of his friends shouted.
I ignored their jibing and continued. I took a stab in the dark, using a technique Elenna had taught me. “There is one you have set your heart upon, though she does not know it yet. You fear she will not see your affections as truth, and so you disguise it with your flirtations.”
His smile dropped, and he looked down at his hand as if it were written there.
“How could you know that?” he whispered.
I shook my head. “You should go to her and confess before it is too late.”
A hush fell over the crowd once more. Even his friends had stopped their playful shouting.
The man took his hand from mine and turned it over a few times before turning to the crowd and declaring, “She’s right. I must go.”
I exhaled as he ran off the stage. It had been a lucky guess. It was all a performance; none of my actual skill as a diviner was required. That had been Elenna’s plan from the start, having the genuine article play a charlatan. It was ironic to say the least, but I took comfort in the fact that I did not need to ply my gift. I still feared and resented it.
The people shouted and demanded more, and I acquiesced, reading several more ‘fortunes’. Each time I used none of my craft and used vague premonitions that fit what they wanted to hear. I hated lying to these people, giving false hope, but it was necessary. I needed to bide my time while Beau searched the villa. After a final young woman, who was looking for her brother to come home from battle, I had my fill. I could not continue any longer.
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